Lecce funding announcement could free up $20 Million locally

Hamilton’s Catholic school board chair says he is deeply concerned about Education Minister Stephen Lecce’s plan to allow local school boards to tap into their reserves to fund school reopening. The Minister announced yesterday that the government would allow boards to take up to two percent of their operating budget to cover some of the extra costs associated with school reopening. School boards have worked very, very hard over many years to establish reserves in support of priorities in the best interest of students. This will take away from that,” said Pat Daly, chair of the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board (HWCDSB). “We believe the responsibility of schools reopening rests with the provincial government to fund. This takes away resources that would’ve been used for students in other ways.”

For the Hamilton Boards the Lecce plan would free up about $12 Million for the public school board and $7.6 Million for the Catholic Board. A spokesperson for the Public school Board told the Bay Observer that a special board meeting has been called for August 24 to “determine financial implications and priorities.”